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Danushka Gunathilaka has reportedly been allowed to use WhatsApp and go out at night, three months after being granted bail by a Sydney court in connection to an alleged rape case. The development came after a Sydney magistrate relaxed the Sri Lankan cricketer’s bail conditions on Thursday, February 23.
Magistrate Jennifer Atkinson was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo:
“Not satisfied today that it is necessary to keep the curfew in place. There’s nothing unique about [the alleged offenses] that it would have occurred at night and couldn’t occur during the day.”
Atkinson had earlier prohibited him from using WhatsApp.
Timeline of events in Danushka Gunathilaka's case
A 29-year-old woman alleged that Danushka Gunathilaka had sexually assaulted her at a property in Sydney’s Rose Bay after meeting her via an online dating application on November 2, 2022. The cricketer was charged with four counts of sexual intercourse without consent. He was arrested at the team hotel in Sydney during the T20 World Cup 2022 on November 7. Since then, he is yet to enter a plea.
On the same day, the 31-year-old cricketer was suspended from all forms of cricket by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC).
In a statement, SLC said:
"The Executive Committee of Sri Lanka Cricket decided to suspend national player Danushka Gunathilaka from all forms of cricket with immediate effect and will not consider him for any selections after being informed that Mr. Gunathilaka was arrested and charged with sexual assault of a woman in Australia.”
On November 8, Gunathilaka was denied bail by a local court. He, however, was granted bail while awaiting trial but was banned from using his social media accounts on November 17. The case is expected to return to court in April.
It's worth mentioning that Danushka Gunathilaka was forced to withdraw from the T20 World Cup 2022 after only playing against Namibia due to a hamstring injury.
Since making his debut in November 2015, Gunathilaka has represented Sri Lanka in eight Tests, 47 ODIs and 46 T20Is.
Click here to read about five cricketers who had complaints filed against them.
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